- What did I learn from this project?
The 9/11 interview essay opened my eyes to how the horrible event that occurred before I was even born affected people all over the world. I have always heard stories about the collision that day, but it didn’t really affect me because I was not around when all of this was happening. My parents and I have talked about it briefly before, but this project helped my realize how much these acts of terrorism changed people. I interviewed my mom for this assignment, and she was living in India in 2001. I also learned how 9/11 affected people all over the world, and not just people in America.
- What did I do well? What aspect of my writing am I proud of in this piece?
I think I explained other people’s perspective pretty well in this assignment. I was able to get a unique view on these attacks through my mom, and I think I did a good job of explaining the way she felt in the days surrounding 9/11. I was lucky to be able to interview someone like this, who was not directly in the center of all the commotion during this time.
- What aspect of the writing did I struggle with during the process? Why?
Out of everything, I struggled with finding a way to tell my mother’s story without using too many direct quotes. I had to include my own thoughts and paraphrase throughout the essay, which took a while to get used to. However, once I got the hang of it, I think I was able to record her perspective pretty well.
- What would I do differently if I could do it again?
If I were to redo this assignment, I would have started writing it earlier. I interviewed my mom four days before starting to write. If this gap was shorter, I might have been able to include more details because it would have been more fresh in my mind. I also wish I had more time, because I would have gone back and asked her more questions to make my writing better.